My Bloody Lover
by krynny su
Summary: /** Story #9 in my 'Adventures of a Time Lord & a Slayer Series**\\    Parallel dimensions aren't all they are cracked up to be. Buffy/Ten.
1. Wrong Time, Waaayyyy Wrong Place

**Disclaimer/AN:**

Everything in this story takes place directly after 'HIKYB'. How soon after? Well, you'll have to read on for that! There's some disagreement amongst the Doctor and Buffy on how long it's been. :)

There's definitely a spoiler to a pretty major incident that happened in that story, but I don't think nearly enough to be confused, if you haven't read that yet. Which, if you haven't, you probably should. It's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself! ;)

I don't really want to give away too much on the plot of this….I kind of want it to be a surprise ending, if you will.

Okay, with my shameless self-plugging and all the explanations out of the way, onto to the legal stuff. I don't own Buffy or DW. They are owned by their respective owners, blah blah blah.

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><p><strong>My Bloody Lover <strong>

**Chapter One: Wrong Time, Way Wrong Place**

"Buffy! Are you alright, love?"

I sat up slowly. My head was a bit dizzy. My arm was a bit sore from landing on it after being tilted over one of the higher up railings. And there was a rather large headache looming. Possibly a migraine.

All things that would eventually go away.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Help me up?"

The Doctor rushed over and grabbed my elbow, helping me stand.

"What happened? What's with the boom-y crash landing type thing?"

The Doctor raised his eyebrow, presumably at my speech and turned back to the console.

"Well, we crashed. So therefore…..a crashed landing."

"We crashed? We literally crashed? Where? Why?" I asked, running up behind him, as he dashed around the console to the screen.

He didn't answer. He just stared at the screen and fiddled intently with knobs and levers. While he was busy, I decided to sneak over towards the doors and have myself a little peeksies at our location.

I put my hand on the door to pull it open. The Doctor yelled, jumped down and lunged himself in front of the doors.

"You _cannot_go out there, love. I have absolutely no idea where we are, why we crashed and, more importantly, why the TARDIS won't let us leave. Clearly, that means it's not safe out there, for whatever reason."

If he was hoping to catch my attention, he did.

"Wait, what? We're stuck?"

"It would appear that way."

"Why are we stuck?"

"She's very…testy. Almost adamant, I dare say."

"Adamant? As in we've crashed and now we're stuck..._on purpose_?"

"From what I can gather, yes."

"I'm guessing that you plan on tinkering around to find out what the problem is?"

"Well, yes. Of course."

"And I'm guessing that you want me to stay put, here in the TARDIS, while you do that?"

"Um, yes. It would most definitely be helpful to know where you are and that you're not in any trouble."

I walked closer to the Doctor and wrapped my arms around his neck. I lowered my eyes and looked up at him from under my eyelashes. I was using what some might call 'puppy dog eyes'.

"So, you're saying that there's definitely no way we can go out and see where we are? Even just for a minute? A teeny, tiny minute?" I trailed my finger down from his neck as I spoke.

He didn't answer. He just sighed heavily. It was the type of sigh that let me know that I had won. The sigh of defeat.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me up tight to him.

"You're using trickery and that's not fair." he smirked.

"Have to get my way somehow." I smiled back.

I had been doing that a lot lately. Smiling.

The heaviness that hung in my heart over Dawn's untimely death wasn't so heavy anymore. The sting was definitely still there, at times almost unbearable, but the Doctor, _my_Doctor….he made it better.

So much better.

I'd been gone from Earth and… 'normal'...time for, oh, I don't know, about a year or so, I'd guess. However, the Doctor constantly assures me that it's actually been a lot longer. More like two or three years, Earth terms.

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times.

Time travel is confusing.

The Doctor sighed again.

"Oh okay. Let's go take a quick look around. I can't say 'no' to you and you've seemed to figure that out."

I grinned, kissed him on the lips for a long moment and then slid out of his arms.

The Doctor grabbed his trench from its post and slipped it on as he walked towards the doors. I was wearing a purple long-sleeved top with my jeans so I decided that I would fore-go the coat route. Coats just get in the way.

"Ladies first." the Doctor smiled, gesturing towards the doors.

I put my hands on them and started to open them, but stopped.

"Just so you know, if there's something outside, waiting to eat us, I'm going to be super pissed at her for landing us here."

"Won't know if we just stand here." he smiled.

I opened the doors and gazed out, expecting to see some beautiful, brilliant planet, like in the past.

I was met with disappointment.

Severe, severe disappointment.

"It's a cemetery." I peered around the doors of the TARDIS, without actually stepping out. I recognized several statues immediately.

"And not just any old cemetery…it's Sunnydale. We're in Sunnydale." I added on.

The Doctor stepped out past me to investigate, his curiosity definitely peaked.

Considering that the Sunnydale of the future...was currently a giant crater.

A giant crater that I _ totally_had nothing at all to do with...;)

"Hmm…yes. It would appear that way." he agreed after a few minutes.

I stepped out of the TARDIS, closing and locking the doors with my key on the way out.

The Doctor was a few spaces down, staring blankly at a row of tombstones. He had the saddest look etched on his beautiful, ancient face.

"Buffy, I know where we are." he said. His somber tone matched the look on his face.

"Yeah, in Sunnydale. Already established that." I said, walking over and sliding my hand in his.

"Not just Sunnydale."

"No? Where then?"

He pointed down to the row of stones in front of us.

I gasped and my hand automatically went up to my mouth as I read them. By the time I was at the last one, I understood the Doctor's now forming tears. I took a deep breath and squeezed his hand tightly.

FAITH LEHANE  
>SLAYER<br>1981-1999

WESLEY WYNDHAM-PRICE  
>BELOVED WATCHER<br>1968-1999

KENDRA YOUNG  
>SLAYER<br>1981-1998

CORDELIA CHASE  
>BELOVED DAUGHTER AND FRIEND<br>1981-1998

ALEXANDER L. HARRIS  
>BELOVED SON AND FRIEND<br>1981-1998

WILLOW D. ROSENBERG  
>BELOVED DAUGHTER AND FRIEND<br>1981-1998

JOYCE SUMMERS  
>BELOVED MOTHER, FRIEND AND COMPANION<br>1957-1998

BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS  
>BELOVED DAUGHTER, FRIEND AND HEROINE<br>1981-1998

"It's a parallel dimension." the Doctor said, quietly, squeezing my hand back.

I used my free hand to wipe tears away-his and mine.

"We should leave. It's not safe for us to be here, love. You very clearly existed in this dimension….if someone were to see you…the consequences could be disastrous." he added on.

"They already are! Everyone I've ever cared about is dead." I sobbed.

"Shhh….shhh. It's alright, sweetheart. It's alright. It's just an alternate reality." he said, pulling me into a tight hug.

"C'mon, let's get back into the TARDIS. I'll get you set up with a nice cuppa and some biscuits while I try to figure out what's wrong with her."

I nodded, slowly, in agreement but when I lifted my head from his shoulder, my whole body went rigid.

"Buffy? What is it?" the Doctor asked, feeling my body tense up.

"Doctor, you once told me that occasionally, the TARDIS will take us where we're needed versus where we want to be. Is that right?"

"Yes, love. That's right."

"Then I know why she brought us here."

I pulled out of his arms and placed him behind me while I took up a protective stance in the front. I reached behind me into his coat pocket and pulled out Mr. Pointy 2.0.

In the not too far off distance stood four of the most noticeable vampires from my past.

Darla.

Drusilla.

Spike.

They stood, ready to attack, behind their leader.

Angelus.


	2. Sunnyhell Never Changes

**A/N:** For the purpose of this, the whole Angel/Darla/Connor storyline never happened. Nor did Spike materialize in Angel's office. Darla died when Angel killed her in S1 and Spike remained dead after the final fight.

This chapter is in the third person. :) 

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Sunnyhell Never Changes<strong>

"What do we have here?" Angelus asked. His tone had mixtures of amusement, confusion and arrogance laced throughout.

"Looks like the bitch is back." Darla bemused.

"Buffy…I think we should get back to the TARDIS." the Doctor said, nervously.

Buffy swallowed the hard lump that had formed in her throat. She was trying her hardest to get from the 'terrified-suddenly heartbroken-scorned' Buffy that she currently was, into 'badass Slayer mode.'

"We can't turn our backs on them. As soon as we do, we're done for." she whispered to the Doctor.

"What do you think is going on, Buffy?" the Doctor whispered back, squeezing her free hand.

"Um, well, my guess would be that in this dimension, Angelus and his gang of loser vamps rule Sunnydale. Subsequently, after murdering myself and everyone I've ever cared about. From the freshness of Faith's grave and her tombstone, I'm guessing the year is 1999."

"That's exactly what I was thinking too."

"You're supposed to be dead, Slayer-bitch. I killed you myself." Angelus growled.

Buffy whipped her head back in the vampire's direction. She folded her arms and shrugged.

"Looks like you didn't try hard enough."

"I chained you to my wall and tortured your loved ones in front of you for hours. By the time I killed your mother, you were begging for death." he smiled.

Buffy unfolded her arms and rolled her hands, into tight fists, clutching onto Mr. Pointy with one hand and the Doctor's hand with her other.

He wanted to play _that_ game? Fine. Buffy would play. She already knew all of Angelus' tricks and she wasn't going to let them get to her this time around.

"If you think that telling me how you murdered my family and friends is going to weaken me, you're wrong. So _very_ wrong." she hissed.

Slayer-bitch was rising closer and closer to the surface and boy oh boy was she _pissed_.

"You…you're different. You look…"

"Let me guess, different?"

"Buffy, I don't think you should be mocking him." the Doctor said.

"I _am_ different. I'm older. Wiser. And, oh, hey. Not from this dimension."

Angelus and Darla laughed. Spike felt a bit…uneasy. Something about this version of the Slayer was immensely familiar to him.

"See, I told you all. Something was coming. A trial. Night skies and falling stars. Past lovers and future enemies…aliens." Drusilla rambled.

"I see Dru's still completely insane."

"Don't you dare mock her, Slayer." Spike hissed.

Buffy ignored Spike's lame attempt at a threat and focused in on Darla, who was now clinging all over Angelus in, you know, _that_ way.

Buffy heaved a gag of disgust.

"Ugh. Could you two, like, get a room or something? You're literally turning my stomach. And oh, by the way, _so_ not jealous. But nice try."

They stopped their little show and looked in awe at the Slayer and her strange companion.

Darla smirked that dumbass evil bad guy smile.

"Sure about that, Slayer? I know that you two were all hot and heavy at one point…otherwise Angelus wouldn't be here right now, waiting to eviscerate you. Again. Goodness knows I tried my hardest to get him to rejoin with us before…"

Buffy pushed the evisceration visual out of her head and hoped that the Doctor did as well.

"Yeah…and did you notice how the whole 'perfect happy moment' occurred with me and **not** you?"

Darla lost her little idiot smirk. Buffy decided to keep going.

"In my dimension, you're not even alive. Angel killed you. He killed you to save my life."

"Name's Angelus. Get it right. Angel is dead." Angelus growled. "And I would never kill Darla. I love her."

Buffy laughed a dry, humourless laugh.

"That's _really_ funny. The Angelus that I know has very limited emotions and not one of them is love. Not a single one. You wouldn't know what love is if it hit you, straight in the heart."

"But you do. Both of you. I can smell it all around, the love you two have for each other."

Buffy didn't respond, she just tightened my fighting stance and let go of the Doctor's hand, in preparation.

Big. Mistake.

As soon as she let go, all four vampires rushed them.

To her (somewhat) surprise, Angelus and Darla sailed right past her and went straight for the Doctor. She ran after them, but Spike and Drusilla jumped her and she was forced to deal with them. They gave up after a few minutes and ran off.

Buffy quickly realized that she was all alone now.

That had been their plan for some time now. Angelus and Darla kidnapped the Doctor, her Doctor, while she was being forced to deal with Spike and Dru.

Buffy had the urge to sink down and cry, but she didn't. Instead, she rose up.

She had already lost too much, in this world and in her own. She wasn't about to lose anyone else. Especially not her Doctor. Especially not to _him_. If they wanted a fight, they were going to get one. And they were going to be sorry.

_

Buffy stood around for only a few seconds before she quickly realized that as much as she cherished MP2, it was going to take more than a stake to defeat Angelus & gang. It was going to take ingenuity and an arsenal of weapons.

She took another look at the tombstones and noticed something odd. Something odd and slightly hopeful.

Giles' name wasn't among them. Hopefully, that meant that he was still alive, if he was even in this dimension to begin with. Buffy figured that it couldn't hurt to check, so off she ran.  
>This version of Sunnydale seemed to be pretty in sync with the one that had been, so she decided to go towards Giles' apartment first. Buffy knocked loudly on the door, not wanting to just walk in.<p>

She heard some hushed voices and shuffling around inside. It was several minutes before anyone made their way to the door.

"Who's there?" said a hushed, extremely British voice from the other side of the door. It was a voice that held few emotions. Hate and sorrow being the main two.

Buffy took a deep breath.

"Giles, it's me. This is going to sound completely insane and you're probably not going to believe me….but you have to open the door and let me in. It's important."

Giles could hardly believe the voice on the other side. It sounded like her…it did, it really did but how could it be? He looked over to his partner in the war against Angelus and his new gang, who was running a hand through his short, chaotic reddish tinted hair.

He grabbed a crossbow that was sitting next to him, aimed it for the door and nodded for Giles to go on and open it already.

Buffy heard the locks coming undone and then the door was open and there was Giles staring her in the face, but so were Oz and two very menacing looking crossbows.

Buffy instinctively put her hands up.

"Look, I'm not armed. The only thing I have is a stake. See?" she said, wiggling Mr. Pointy around.

"How can it be you? You're dead. You died. I watched it happen." Giles said.

"Can I come in? I'm open bait standing out here." Buffy responded.

"The real Buffy would never ask to come in. She would just waltz in, unannounced." Giles deadpanned.

I sighed, put my hands down and waltzed past Giles, Oz and their weapons.

"Look, see? Me Buffy. Buffy not vampire. Buffy real."

Giles closed the door but kept his crossbow aimed.

"You look different. Older. Buffy was, er, you were only seventeen when you died last year."

"I'm not from this dimension. Technically, the Buffy that lives here, she's still dead. My boyfriend, the Doctor, he's a Time Lord. We travel throughout time and space together. We got pulled here, through a hole in the time vortex. Met Angelus and his gang in the cemetery. They kidnapped him. I noticed you weren't among the dead. Figured you'd have some weapons I could use."

_

The Doctor barely recognized his surroundings. He had been here once before, well, okay, not in this dimension of course, but he had been at the Mansion before. The very first time that he had met Buffy, actually. When he sealed the hole that Angel had fallen out of.

Quite a bit of change since then. Not that that mattered now. He was tied down to a filthy wooden table. Arms tied to his side. Rope circled around the top of his chest and then again around his waistline and all the way down his legs. His middle was left open, he assumed, for Angelus to continue his torturous ways. He wasn't sure exactly what was going on in the middle of his body; he just knew that it was painful.

And bloody.

Really, really bloody.

Though, for all the pain he was in and all the torture he was currently going through, he also _knew_ that Buffy was on her way, with a daring rescue in mind. He just knew it.

And he hoped that was soon, because he, for once in his very long life, didn't have an idea on what to do. He was just one brilliant, clever, severely injured Time Lord. Against four of the most vicious vampires to have ever come about. They weren't dubbed 'The Scourge of Europe' for nothing, after all and he highly doubted that the sonic screwdriver would be of much help. Not that he could reach it anyhow, you know, with all the ropes and searing pain.

Angelus had stopped the torturing for a moment to have a word with his cohorts. Spike had just crashed into the main room, stating his opinion on kidnapping me.

"I don't like it." Spike said, loudly.

"Spike, I know this is hard for you, but how about you try having a spine for once. " Angelus spat back.

"What exactly don't you like, Spike? We have her lover. She's going to come for him. When she does, we'll kill her." Darla said, matter of fact-ly.

"I have a spine, thank you. And unlike you lot, I haven't forgotten what she said about being from a different dimension. She clearly has some sort of power, if she's able to just hop between dimensional walls."

"Aww….look girls, little Spikey-wikey is scared!" Angelus mocked.

"Listen to me, tall dark and stupid, I'm not scared. I just don't fancy being a big ol' pile of ashes in the morning!"

"No, you listen to me, Captain Peroxide. I'm in command here. You do what I say, when I say it. Are we clear on that?" Angelus growled.  
>Spike stood tall and silent for a moment before slowly nodding his head and walking out of the room.<p>

Darla and Drusilla sauntered over to Angelus only to have him turn them away. He was far too angry to be dealt with at this point and they should've recognized that, but being the simpletons that they were and what with Dru's mental condition and all, they didn't. They followed silently in Spike's footsteps, outside the mansion.

The Doctor couldn't really see what was going on due to his…predicament but he had definitely heard. Suddenly, Angelus was at his side, looking down, staring directly into his eyes.

"I know what will make me feel better."

He smiled and it was deliciously evil, as they say.

The Doctor watched as Angelus picked up a very dirty, very sharp knife.

"How about we check out those two hearts that I keep hearing? See how they are faring."

Angelus took the knife and plunged it down. The Doctor silently pleaded...begged...wished for Buffy to come crashing through the walls and put a stop to the horror. For the first time in a long time, he wished nothing but death for his captor.

And he personally couldn't wait to witness it.

_

It had taken Buffy a little longer than she had hoped to convince Giles and Oz that she was indeed trustworthy and that she had absolutely no plans to kill them.

Once they got that out of the way, Giles had started pulling out his weapon supply for her to choose from while he told her all the bloody details.

Literally.

Apparently, Sunnydale's condition was so bad that the Council had just stopped sending Slayers. The newest Slayer that had arrived after Faith was sent to Cleveland instead. It appeared that the Council was just as useless in this world as it had been in Buffy's.

She listened intently as she rummaged through the weaponry. She grabbed a crossbow and some arrows because, well, she had never been able to resist the pull of flying fatality but there was something else lurking in the pile that had caught her eye.

She fixed the crossbow on her back and dug to the bottom of the pile, pulling out the familiar weapon. The stake at the bottom was sharp and pointy. The handle in the middle was clean and firm. The red of the blade gleamed, practically begging for use. Buffy could feel its power burning through her body…something she found that she kind of missed since she had given the original one to Faith all that time ago.

"Oz and I just dug that particular scythe out of a hidden tomb this morning. I haven't had the chance to research it yet, find out why it was hidden."

"It's the true weapon of the Slayer." Buffy said, in amazement and admiration.  
>Giles and Oz stared at her expectantly so she explained as best she could.<p>

"It was forged in secrecy a very very long time ago. At its core, it holds the very essence of the Slayer. This weapon is pure power. Pure power for pure Slayers."

"How do you know so much 'bout it?" Oz asked.

Buffy cleared her throat. "There's one like it in my dimension. I had possession of it for quite some time, but I handed it over to Faith when I left for the last time."

"Faith? She lives in your world?" Giles asked.

"Yep. They're all alive. Well, except for Kendra. And Mom. But she didn't die at the hands of….well, she was sick. Really sick. She died from natural causes. And I'm pretty sure that Cordelia's dead too. I don't really know how I know that…but I'm pretty sure she is. And Angel…he's not evil. Not anymore. I defeated him after…well, this situation here is pretty similar to one I went through a long, long time ago. And I won." Buffy explained.

Oz smiled. Giles put his hand on Buffy's shoulder. "And you'll win again. Now go. Go or else I fear that your Doctor may not have much time left."

Buffy grabbed the crossbow from her back and loaded it up with four arrows. She swung the crossbow back around her back and strapped the scythe in with it. She walked towards the door but stopped. She turned back and hugged Giles and Oz tightly.

"I'm so glad you two are alive. As soon as it's morning, I want you two to book it out of Sunnydale. Go on and live your lives. There's nothing left for you around here anymore but heartache. You'll never be able to move on if you sit here wallowing in it every day. Promise me that you'll leave."

Oz and Giles nodded. "First light, we're gone." Oz said.

She sat high in a tree top, just outside the Mansion grounds.

It had taken Buffy all of five minutes to reach the Mansion after she left Giles'. In those five minutes she had formulated something that simulated a plan. Kind of. Well, a half-baked plan, at the least.

And then Spike wandered outside, followed by Darla and Drusilla and her whole plan changed.

She smiled, knowing that her win was imminent. She knew the Doctor was still alive; she could feel it. She could tell by the attitude between Spike and Darla that there was possibly some dissension in the ranks. All things that she could use in her favor.

She silently pulled the crossbow from her back. Spike and Darla were arguing. Drusilla was just glancing up towards the sky, lost in a faraway gaze. Buffy widened her smile and took aim. She pressed the trigger and within seconds, Drusilla was a pile of ashes on the terrace. Spike was wide eyed with grief and shock. Darla whipped her head towards the shadows. Towards Buffy's direction.

Buffy hopped down from the trees, crossbow still aimed. She emerged from the shadows, the ones that Darla was peering so heavily into and stood her ground.

"Slayer-bitch! You're going to suffer horribly for what you've done!" Darla screamed.

"You know, I've always regretted not being the one to dust your skanky ass." Buffy said.

Darla lunged and Buffy pulled the trigger of the crossbow at the same time. It hit Darla squarely in the chest and before she even had a chance to react, she was dust blowing in the non-existent wind.

Buffy walked forward, towards Spike, crossbow still aimed. Spike looked up from Dru's ashes. He had tears welling up in his eyes and running all down his face. He opened his arms up wide.

"Kill me Slayer. Go on. I'm nothing without her love. I'd rather be dead."

Buffy stared at Spike. She lowered the crossbow, realizing that she didn't have it in her to kill him, even though he clearly wasn't the same Spike…the one that had died in her dimension. The one that had died to save the world.

"What's the status of my lover?" Buffy asked, keeping her voice cold.

Spike eyed the Slayer curiously. She seemed so familiar…and not just because he had witnessed Angelus kill the girl the year before. This exact version of her with longer, blonder hair. Sharp wit. Like she had said. Older. Wiser.

It was like she had stirred distant memories of dreams that he had had….dreams that he had never told any of his cohorts. Dreams of a world where there was more than one Slayer. Slayers. Coming together from all different parts of the world to fight a common foe. Something called 'The First'.

And he was on their side.

The latest installment of the dreams ended with him and the Slayer holding hands, while his hand burned, from sunlight or the fires of Hell itself, he wasn't sure. But it was the Slayer that he saw before him that starred in that dream. Not the one that Angelus had murdered.

"I asked you a question." Buffy growled, fiercely.

"Oh, uh, not good. Angelus' been using him as a torture device for the last half hour. Better get in there quick, pet. Or else there'll be another one joining the cemetery tonight."

Buffy walked closer to Spike, who was still kneeling on the ground, next to Dru's ashes.

"What're you doing? Aren't you going to kill me?" Spike asked.

"Did you kill any of my loved ones? And don't lie to me."

Spike swallowed hard. "No. Not at first. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I don't know why, but I felt…drawn to the core of them. But eventually, Captain Forehead got suspicious so I had to kill someone….but he said it wasn't good enough. That I hadn't…contributed like the rest of them had. He made me kill Red and her boy toy, the one with the weird shirts, not the werewolf. While you, well the other you, watched. I've had this horrible guilt about it ever since…"

Buffy had a sudden realization. She knew exactly what was happening. She lowered her crossbow and bent down to his eye level.

"I'm not going to kill you. But listen and listen good. Whatever the Buffy in this dimension was….I'm not. As soon as my back turns, I want you gone. Get out of Sunnydale and stay out. And don't even think of trying to sabotage me while I'm in there fighting with Angelus. I'm giving you one warning and this is it. I don't do second chances and you'd do best to remember that. Now, run along."

Spike stood up. Buffy stood along with him.

He nodded and then he was gone.

Buffy turned back towards the Mansion.

She took a deep breath.

"Showtime."


	3. Just An Old Fashioned Fight Scene

**A/N:** I'm switching back to Buffy's POV :) Also, there's some quotes in here from 'Becoming Part 2'. I don't own Buffy, or DW for that matter. They are owned by their respective copyrights.

**Chapter Three: Just An Old Fashioned Fight Scene**

I kicked the door off the hinges and stepped through, into the barely lit main room.

Always one for making an entrance, that's me.

Angelus spun around from his current activity (slicing up my lover) and glared at me.

"Hello, lover." I smirked.

"How did you manage to get past Spike, Darla and Dru? Well, Spike, I understand because he's a feeble pansy, but Darla and Drusilla are vicious. It's completely impossible."

"Dead. They're all dead. And it's not impossible. Just really unlikely." I winked at the Doctor, who, even in his current horrible state, managed a small smile.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to kill you myself. Again." Angelus said, with a vicious smile.

I raised my crossbow and took aim. "I guess you'll just have to try harder this time."

I pulled the trigger and the arrow flew out, hitting Angelus in the chest, just inches away from his heart.

He laughed stupid, evil, bad guy laughter. "You missed, sweetheart."

"Wasn't aiming for your heart. I was just getting your attention." I tossed the crossbow to the floor and whipped the scythe away from my back. "I plan on killing you with this."

Angelus growled loudly and lunged at me. I flipped over the top of him and landed a perfect roundhouse kick to his back, sending him head first into the wall. I grabbed a hold of him and bashed his head against the wall a couple times, you know, for good measure.

He whirled around though, with me still on his back and flipped me over the top of him. I landed with a hard thud on the floor. The scythe fell from my hand. I managed to wrap my legs around his and pull him down with me. He put all his strength into his arms, holding me down by my shoulders.

I managed to loosen his grip a bit. I flipped us over so I was on top of him. Angelus, being who he is, of course couldn't resist making a gross dirty comment.

"While your there, wriggle around a bit, would ya?"

I punched him as hard as I could in the face once, but when I went to bring my fist down for the second punch, he grabbed my hand tightly. I felt my bones crush under the weight of the pressure. He used the distraction to toss me over the top of him. I hit the wall, again, this time though I'm pretty sure I heard some ribs crack.

Angelus was up before me. He grabbed me by the throat and raised me up from the floor. He walked us towards a different set of doors, ones that were made entirely out of glass. He smirked, evilly of course, and then flung me through them. The glass shattered and flew everywhere, including into me.

As I laid on the concrete, I noticed that there was a rather large piece, the size of Mr. Pointy, sticking out from my side.

I managed to pull the jagged glass stake out of my side and pull myself up into a sitting position, against a small, outside wall.

Angelus stepped out slowly, through the broken mess. I held my side tight, but really, to no avail. Blood was freely flowing out over my hands. I glared up at Angelus as he stepped closer to me.

"I'd start saying my prayers, if I were you. You don't have a lot of time left." I hissed.

He laughed. "Then again, I'm not the one with blood gushing out of my side."

"Not yet, anyway."

"Come on kind of strong, don't you think? You're playing some deep odds here."

"Eh, what can I say? I like to gamble."

"Do you really think that you can win? The way I see it, you're about a minute or so away from knocking on death's door."

"If I'm going out, I'm taking you with me." I growled.

Angelus smirked. "See you in Hell."

"Save me a seat?"

Angelus rolled his eyes impatiently.

"Okay. Death's taking a little longer than I'd hoped. Let's speed things up, shall we?"

He took his hand and dug it straight through the hole that the glass came out of. I screamed in horrifying pain. Blood rushed out faster.

I watched as Angelus turned and walked back in to the Doctor, who, was looking just as good as I was at the moment.

"If she dies, I swear I will make you hurt so bad that you will be begging for my mercy." he growled.

"Hmm, kinda like this?" Angelus grabbed a knife and swiped it across the Doctor's already bruised and bloodied chest.

"You think the sun is dangerous now? Wait until I drop you in it." he panted.

"Oh, just give up already!"

"Never."

"That's everything, huh? No weapons, no friends, no hope. Take all that away and what's left?"

During their little chat fest, I had managed to scramble myself up off the ground. I grabbed the scythe, as I silently inched my way past it. By the end of the familiar convo, I was right behind Angelus.

"Me."

Angelus turned around at the sound my voice. As soon as he did, I used all the strength that I could muster to swing the scythe. The sharp blade connected with Angelus' neck and he was a pile of ash before I could count to two.

I swung the scythe down once more and cut the Doctor's ropes. I looked him in the eyes with a weak smile.

"I think I'm dying, Doctor."

"No, you're not. I won't let you. Not after everything we've been through."

"You're glowing. Should you be glowing?"

"I'm regenerating."

"Oh, well at least one of us is going to make it."

Then I fell into blackness.


	4. Bow Ties Are Cool

**Chapter Four**

It had been a week since the parallel dimension. At least. Maybe. He wasn't quite sure. For being a Lord of Time, he was doing a rather ruddy job of it at the moment. To be fair, there had been a lot going on. As soon as he got Buffy safely into the TARDIS, she roared to life. Well, kind of. The Doctor had barely managed to get her through the time vortex when she started to crash.

Again.

But, again, at the same time, he had other things to worry about. He was sort of in the middle of regenerating, for one, and more importantly, Buffy was completely comatose on the grated floor of the console and possibly dying.  
>No. She was. He could feel it.<p>

So he did what he had to. He regenerated. Accounted for all of his limbs. He tried to steer the TARDIS as best he could. But a crashing TARDIS is a cranky TARDIS and she was being stubborn. So he just let her be and instead decided that he should try to prepare Buffy for impact. He picked her up carefully and raced her to their bedroom. He set her on the bed, gently, and intended to stay with her while the crash happened, he really had, but he also realized that the sonic screwdriver wasn't in his pocket. He cursed and ran out of the bedroom, down the long corridor, back into the console room. He spotted it lying on the floor and went to grab it.

Unfortunately, that's when the police box decided to jerk violently. The force of it caused the doors to burst open and the screwdriver did what was expected. It rolled towards the open doors and the open sky.

He cursed, again, and scrambled quickly towards the doors. He reached his newly long arm out, grabbed the screwdriver and, of course, the TARDIS lurched again, this time sending him flying out the doors. He grabbed on to the edge, with the screwdriver in his mouth and his body was left dangling as the TARDIS soared through the sky. He recognized the familiar features of London and sighed some kind of relief that at least they were crashing towards Earth. At least they had made it out of the time vortex.

He put all his strength into his arms and managed to pull himself back inside. He closed the doors and raced back towards their bedroom. The impending crash was looming. As soon as he reached their door, he threw himself over the top of Buffy, shielding her from any shrapnel that may fall. The TARDIS spun wildly as she fell, viciously tossing the Doctor and Buffy's body all around.

Somehow, they ended up in the pool—which ended up in the library—by the time the TARDIS had finally crashed. He cautiously scooped Buffy up in his arms and laid her down in the nearest, safest bedroom. He climbed up through the TARDIS, burst out the doors and that's when he met young Miss Amelia Pond.

Fast forward a week (and twelve years…long story) and an older Miss _Amy_ Pond sat next to him as he sat by Buffy's bed in the hospital.

Amelia Pond was such a better name than Amy. Amelia was a _brilliant_ name.

Amy and her boyfriend Rory helped him out quite extensively after the small time mix-up. It was a whole thing involving a crack in a wall, Amy's wall, to be more exact, Prisoner Zero and the Atraxi. Oh, and he had to save the world. In twenty minutes.

After he accomplished that small feat, he pulled Buffy's body out of the TARDIS and brought her to the hospital. He didn't want to have to leave her in there while he was off saving the world, but at the time he thought it was the safest place for her to be, seeing as how the final confrontation happened at the hospital.

Buffy's self-healing abilities were slow to start due to the extent of her injuries. She lost a lot of blood and needed to have a transfusion. He stripped his new(ish) coat off, rolled up his sleeve and shoved his arm at the doctor.

He had a lot of time to sit there and think of silly little things in the week that he sat by her bed.

Day and night, he sat there. Thinking back on everything that they had ever gone through. Recapping every memory in his head.

A day after the transfusion and she was already looking better. Looking better, but still comatose.

Amy sat dutifully in a chair next to the Doctor's. She quietly flipped through a magazine. Rory sat on the arm of her chair. The Doctor sat with his chair facing Buffy's bed. He softly stroked her hand as he thought everything over. Today, he decided to shift from his worry over Buffy to his worry over the crack in Amy's wall.

_"Surely not heard the last of that story…and just what did Prisoner Zero mean by 'silence will fall?' Oh, I hope Jeff listened and deleted his internet history…wouldn't want his poor grandmother seeing_ that_…did Buffy's hand just twitch? No. Guess not. No. Wait. Yes. It did. It did! I saw it! I_ felt _it."_

He sat up straight, not letting go of Buffy's hand. "Rory, Amy! Her hand. It moved!"

Amy and Rory flashed their attention up to the Doctor and his mysterious lover.

"What? Are you sure?" Rory asked.

"Yes! I felt it. Go get the doctor. Now! Hurry up!"

They listened and scrambled out of the room. The Doctor turned back to Buffy and laid his head next to her ear and whispered softly.

"It's time. Wake up now…it's time for you to wake up, sweetheart. Time to come back down now. You're needed here. Your friends need you… iI/i need you. Please…don't make me mourn you. Not again. I just…I couldn't do it. Please, love. You have to wake up now…"

_

Buffy wasn't sure where she was, but she was definitely sure that it wasn't Earth-y. Not even Universe-y. Wherever it was, it was bright. Like, blindingly. But just as quick as the blinding light had come, it dulled out.

Buffy was able to see that she was in a white room. Well, maybe not a room. She couldn't be sure. But wherever, whatever it was…it was white.

Pretty cliché.

She looked down, expecting to see herself in a long, flowing white dress or a white pant suit or, hell, she didn't know, but something white…but she was still in her long sleeved purple top and jeans combo. The side of fabric was missing and appeared to be covered in blood. She sighed, patting at the bloodied fabric. Cross one more of her favorite tops off the list. She heaved another sigh and left the fabric slip out of her hands.

A feeling of….familiarity…buzzed through her insides. She whipped her head up and saw a figure walking towards her.

She couldn't quite make out who it was. The figure was cloaked in a sort of…fog. As the figure drew nearer to Buffy though, the fog started to dissipate. By the time it had reached Buffy, she could clearly see who it was. A small tear ran down her cheek. She sprang forward and secured her sister in a tight hug.

Dawn patted her on the back and then backed out of the hug. The two sisters stood awkwardly for a few moments before Buffy spoke.

"Is this Heaven? It seems familiar."

"Not quite."

"Oh great. I'm in Hell. Knew it. I probably died in the middle of the vortex or something and was dropped into some damn Hell dimension that sends demons that mimic versions of people you love."

Dawn laughed. "No, dummy. It's not Heaven, but it's not Hell either. It's….in between."

"Am I dead?"

"Do you want to be?" Dawn asked seriously.

"No." Buffy fired her answer back just as quick as Dawn had asked hers.

"Good. Because you're not."

"Well that's refreshing. Let me guess, comatose?"

"Ding ding ding."

"Ugh, I haaaate hospitals."

"But you're in love with someone that goes by 'the Doctor'. Strange."

"Oh my God. I almost forgot…He was hurt just as bad as I was, if not worse. Is he…"

"He's alive. Bit….different, but alive."

"Dawnie, in that dimension, Spike…"

"Yes, it was him. Our Spike."

"The amulet thingy?"

"The Doctor is good for your brains. Yes, the amulet started it all."

" 'Splainy."

"It fed off Spike's memories. Created a whole parallel dimension around them. After it was all said and done, the Hellmouth that is, it transported him there, replacing most of his memory."

"I knew that thing was volatile."

"Yet you gave it to him anyway. No need for guilt though. It was the right thing to do. It was never meant for Angel to wear. _Never_. Could imagine a whole world built around Angel's memories? Blech, no thanks."

"You said the Doctor was different? How?"

Dawn smiled lovingly at her sister. "I think it's time for you to find out for yourself."

"You're sending me back now, huh?"

"Yep. Though, I've got to tell you one more thing. Before you go."

Buffy sighed. "Is it cryptic?"

Dawn smiled brightly. "Of course it is!"

"Alright, get on with it then." Buffy smiled.

"You've been….altered a bit yourself. You'll find out how soon….just promise me that you won't kill him for what he did. He honestly didn't know what he was doing. Well, I shouldn't say that. He knew what he was doing, he just didn't know the consequences. He was completely devastated and he was just kind of going with the flow of things at that point….he was trying to save your life."

"Who? The Doctor?"

"Buffy, I just broke about a thousand different mystical laws by giving you a hint at your future. Cryptic or not. Be happy with that, eh?"

Buffy smiled. "Oh okay. How's Mom?"

"Good. She would've come too but she was busy with Anya and Tara."

Buffy raised her eyebrow. "Really?"

"What? Just because we're all ghosty, we can't have social lives?"

"Okay okay. Sorry. I guess it's time now, huh?"

"Yep. No more stalling. There's a certain alien down there begging for your life."

"Send everyone my love?"

Dawn smiled another loving smile. "They already know."

Buffy felt tears stinging in her eyes as she smiled. "I love you, Dawnie. Goodbye."

"I love you too, Buffy. Goodbye."

Dawn walked up to Buffy and pinged her on the forehead.

_

Buffy's eyes flew open. Her vision was fuzzy and her brain was foggy, yet she still had some memories of her visit with Dawn. She smiled a small, sad smile and squeezed the hand that was holding hers tightly, knowing that it was the Doctor. _Her_ Doctor.

She slowly turned her head to face him. Alarm rose up through her weakened body rather quickly. The man staring her in the face was not the Doctor.

He was tall, wearing a tweed jacket and a bow tie. He had semi-messy, semi-straight brown hair and his voice…his voice was just so not the Doctor.

She yanked her hand out of his and rapidly tried to inch her way over to the other side of the bed.

"Buffy, shh shh. Calm down. What's wrong, sweetheart?"

Buffy opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

Right. Comatose. Dry throat.

She swallowed a bit and cleared her throat.

"Who are you?"

The strange man looked at her quizzically for a moment but then realization dawned on his face.

He spoke quieter now. "It's me, Buffy. Do you remember what happened to you?"

She nodded quickly.

"Do you remember the last words I said to you before you went unconscious?"

She thought for a moment and shook her head.

"I regenerated Buffy. It's me. I swear it."

She cleared her throat again.

"Where was the first place you, er, the Doctor, took me after Sunnydale?"

The man smiled. "_I_ took you to London. 1599. Shakespeare. There were witches."

"And after that?"

"A space luxury cruise liner modeled after the Titanic hit the TARDIS."

"And after that?"

"Daleks in Depression-era New York City."

Buffy swallowed. She inched closer. She raised her hand and cupped the Doctor's face. She stared long and hard at his face. There was definitely familiarity. She stared into his eyes. They held the same ancient sadness.

"It's him, I promise." a female voice said, entering the room.

Buffy and the man broke apart to look at the intruder.

She was her doctor, the medical one, Buffy guessed. She had a gorgeous dark complexion and a pretty face to match.

She walked forward and held her hand out to Buffy.

"Doctor Martha Jones. Pleasure to meet you, Buffy."

"You're Martha, right? _The_ Martha? The one from the moon?" Buffy asked.

Martha nodded her head. "It's either coincidence or just plain lucky that you crashed near this hospital. I'd only just started here the day the Doctor brought you in."

A young-ish girl with bright, ginger hair and a man (sort of) with shaggy hair followed in behind Martha.

The Doctor stood up and waved them in.

"Amy, Rory…I'd like you to meet Buffy. Buffy, Amy and Rory."

"Hi. Nice to meet you…wait, how do you know Amy and Rory?"

"Oh, right. Well. You see, there was kind of a…dilemma after the TARDIS crashed."

"The TARDIS crashed? Again?"

"In Amy's backyard. It was this whole…world-y save-y thing. I'll explain it later."

Buffy nodded her head in understanding. "Gotcha. Don't mean to be rude, but could I get a few minutes alone with him?" she asked, gesturing towards the Doctor.

The three guests nodded and walked quietly out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

Buffy moved over a bit on the hospital bed and motioned for the Doctor to sit.

He slid his new(ish) body up on the bed and laid his arm gently around Buffy's shoulder.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"While I was…you know, all coma-y, I kind of, um, well….Dawnie was there."

He raised his eyebrow, but didn't comment.

"I don't know how to explain it without it sounding all kinds of hokey and cliché, but she was there. She explained to me about the dimension. How it was created."

"Spike. The amulet thing you told me about. It created the dimension from his mind. His best memories versus his worst fears."

Buffy stared at the Doctor in amazement.

"How in the hell did you know that?"

He smiled. "Darling, just because my face has changed…I'm still essentially the same person on the inside. Well, mostly. Kind of."

Buffy nodded. "Second half, please."

"His best memories-the times he spent being part of 'The Scourge of Europe'. The absolute peak of his and Drusilla's romance. His worst fears-losing the ones he loved the most. You and Drusilla."

Buffy stared off silently for a moment. She thought of bringing up the part where Dawn implied that he had altered her somehow, but she decided to skip that bit till she could find out more about what may or may not happen. Plus, he would probably not be too happy on the whole 'possibly knowing the future' bit. The Time Lord in him probably wouldn't respect the whole part where Dawn, ghost or not, kind of broke a major time law.

In the end, she settled for resting her head on his shoulder while he gently stroked her hair.

After a bit, she sat up and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, I have to ask. What's with the bow tie?"

He looked down at her and smiled, while he fidgeted with the accessory in question.

"What? It's cool. Bow ties are cool."


End file.
